It is known to produce formcoke composed of char and pitch in a closed system as exemplified by Mansfield and Whitten in U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,088. This process requires an oxidative heat treatment to polymerize the binder. The polymerization is necessary in order that the formed shapes be able to withstand carbonization thermal treatments without deforming. While oxidative thermal treatment is necessary for the pitch type binder disclosed by Mansfield et al. it is often not desirable for binders which require only a thermal treatment to obtain the final carbonized product. Additionally, it is often not desirable to use a pitch as a binder because of cost and availability.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for producing formcoke which employs a wide variety of binders.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-oxidative atmosphere for thermal treatment of the formed shapes.